The Highlights of 2016

2016: My Year In Review

I’ve been pretty quiet over December, but it’s always good to take a little break from everything over the festive period. I skipped the festive gift guides but one thing I didn’t want to miss out on was celebrating the highlights of my blogging year.

Everyone has pretty much dismissed 2016 as a bad year, and I’ve been no stranger to bad times this year either, but I’ve also had some amazing experiences and ~life events~ that have made me incredibly grateful and happy.

So before I potter off back to work, real life, responsibilities and not hanging around in my wardrobe of pyjamas for days on end, here are a few of my highlights from the past year. Soz bout all the pics but I promise it’s worth the computer lag!

Snowboarding in St Anton

January was such an exciting month for me as I got to go on my first ever press trip with the Visit Tirol tourist board, as part of their This Girl Can and Go Ski Go Board partnership. I met four amazing girls and snowboarded, explored, ate & drank with them for a few days in St Anton Am Arlberg, Austria. It’s an experience I’ll never forget and one that I even got to repeat in the summer!

In a weird twist of fate, I also visited St Anton in February, for the second time that year, with Mat as part of my ambassador role with Crystal Ski for the 2015/16 season. This time I spent a little longer in the resort and the weather was much more reliable, meaning we got to explore more of the mountains and runs.

It’s been my favourite ever place to snowboard so far and I love the Austrian people. If you’re keen to ski abroad in 2017/18, I’d definitely recommend it.

Moving Into Our First Home

I think it was late March/early April that we finally moved into our house. If you remember way back in 2015, I announced we were renovating a house that Mat’s mum had bought. Instead of selling, she kindly let us rent it and basically decorate it however we wanted.

Even now, 10 months after we moved in, we’re still not quite finished with it, although a home is probably always a work in progress! We’re getting there slowly but surely and will probably be decorating a few rooms this year in any colour other than the current bright white.

I’m hoping to share lots more about our home in the next few months, so let me know if there’s any kind of posts you’d really love to see. In the meantime, have a peek at my interiors section for a look into my home and all of my inspiration.

Comfortable In My Own Skin

I feel like I’ve always had problem skin. It’s honestly so rare for me to comfortably leave the house without any makeup at all. This past year I really wanted to change that, so I overhauled my skincare routine and introduced some products that actually worked.

I blogged about it in more detail here, but it basically involves double-cleansing, calming serum, an amazing balancing moisturiser and a luxurious hydrating oil. Sounds mad but when I actually stick to this routine, my skin definitely thanks me for it.

I also got my eyebrows microbladed in November, which has helped massively with my no-makeup confidence. I’ll share the before & afters of that very soon! Spoiler: they’re fleeky af.

Oh and not forgetting my return to fashion blogging thanks to my growing obsession with cosy knits and comfy trainers. I talked a little bit about how and why I’ve started to embrace my personal style, which you can read about here. More outfit posts to come in 2017!

Summer In St Anton

In the summer, I went back to St Anton for the third time! The lovely Visit Tirol and St Anton tourist boards invited us gals back for a summer version of our January trip. I honestly didn’t realise just how different the place would be in the summer and it really did surpass my expectations.

If you ever want an adventure-filled holiday, with warmer weather and a slightly more leisurely pace than a skiing holiday, then definitely pay the Alps a visit in the summer. Paragliding was a huge highlight for me, so if you’ve got the nerve, then there’s no better place to do it!